First DSO shipment completed from Kolosori

The first shipment of high-grade direct shipping ore (DSO) from the Kolosori nickel project has been completed.

Loading of the first 60,000t bulk carrier was completed on December 25, 2023, with a loading rate of around 10,000tpd achieved in line with the expected rate.

The ship departed the site on December 26 to offtake partner Glencore with the DSO having an average nickel grade of over 1.75% nickel.

Pacific Nickel (ASX:PNM) has now received its first payment of 85% of the value of the first shipment from Glencore with the remainder to be paid upon the receiving of the cargo at port.

The company is now focused on the ramp up to full ore production which is expected to take around three to four months to reach.

Pacific Nickel chief executive Geoff Hiller thanked the team for achieving this milestone.

“Thanks are due to the PNM team along with all stakeholders for their contribution to taking the Kolosori nickel project in the Solomon Islands from a greenfields site to first nickel ore payment is a relatively short period,” he said.

“We are now focused on ramping up ore production to achieve full production of 1.5wmtpa by the time we get to the dry season from April onwards.

“The company will also be looking to undertake exploration to target additional ore sources in the dry season.”

Pacific Nickel holds 80% of Kolosori with landowners associated with the Kolosori project owning the remaining 20%.

The project has a high-grade nickel laterite mineral resource estimate of 7.06mt at 1.57% nickel at a 1.2% nickel cut off.

Pacific Nickel will be carrying out exploration in 2024 to extend the mine life of Kolosori.